Elfboy
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from Naranjo's book Character and Neurosis
1. Core Theory, Nomenclature, and Place in the Enneagram
In the Christian world “gluttony†is included among the seven “cardinal sins,†yet its usual understanding as a gluttony for food only makes it appear somewhat less sinful than others. It would not be included among the basic sinful dispositions, however, if the original meaning of the term were not—as is the case with avarice and lust—something beyond the literal. If we understand gluttony more broadly, in the sense of a passion for pleasure, we may say that this definitely is a capital sin—inasmuch as it implies a deviation from an individual’s potential for self-actualization; hedonism is binding upon the psyche and involves (through confusion) an obstacle in the search for the summum bonum and a snare. We may say that a weakness for pleasure constitutes a generalized susceptibility to temptation, and in this light we can understand Chaucer’s statement in his “The Parson’s Tale†to the effect that “He that is addicted to this sin of gluttony may withstand no other sin.â€
When I first heard Ichazo’s ideas of Protoanalysis, this was in Spanish, and he used the word “charlatan†for the ennea-type VII individual (and “charlatanism†for the fixation). This word also needs to be understood in more than a literal manner: that the glutton is one who approaches the world through the strategy of words and “good reasonsâ€â€”one who
manipulates through the intellect. Ichazo’s later word for this personality, “ego-plan,†makes reference to the fact that the “charlatan†is also a dreamer—indeed, his charlatanism may be interpreted as a taking (or offering) dreams as realities. Yet I think “charlatanism†is more evocative, for planning is a prominent trait of ennea-types I and III as well, and “charlatanism†conveys additional meanings, such as expressive ability, the role of a persuader and manipulator of words, deviously overstepping the boundaries of his knowledge. More than a mere planner, ennea-type VII is a “schemer,†with that strategic character that La Fontaine (a bearer of this disposition) symbolized in the fox.
Ichazo characterized gluttony as a “wanting moreâ€: I leave it up to my gluttonous readers to decide which may be the deeper interpretation. My own impression is that, though this description is characterologically apt, it points to an insatiability that gluttons share with the lusty. Also, although it is true that sometimes gluttons imagine that more of the same would bring about greater pleasure, it is also true that they more characteristically are not seekers of more of the same, but (romantically) seekers of the remote and the bizarre, seekers of variety, more of the same, but (romantically) seekers of the remote and the bizarre, seekers of variety, adventure, and surprise.
In the language of DSM III, the ennea-type VII syndrome receives the name of “narcissistic†—yet we must be cognizant ofthe fact that this is a word that has been used by different authors for other personalities as well.
2. Antecedents in the Scientific Literature on Character
It is in the picture that Schneider paints of those that he calls “labile†that I find the closest approximation to our ennea-type VII.3 I think that in Schneider’s classi!cation an ennea-type VII individual might be diagnosed either as that variant of the “hyperthymic†labeled “hypomanic†or as labile. The latter kind of person he describes as “sensitive, highly
in)uenced by the outer world, inclined to self-analysis. Not a depressive, but one who is subject to occasional excesses of sadness or irritation.†At a more ordinary level of mental health, he draws attention to a trait of “being easily satiated and bored with things … A restlessness seems to invade this subject, especially in spring; an impulsive longing for variety
and novelty … A special manifestation of this personality is the manifestation of vagrancy.†He also quotes Stier who has made a special study on desertion: “In all these investigations one finds very different things; partly the fear of punishment or nostalgia, partly the purely social vagabonding of the lonely, partly a romantic love of adventures and the pursuit of novelty.â€
Since gluttony may be approximately translated into modern terminology as “receptive orality†it is appropriate that as we turn from the literary sources to the psychological ones we begin by considering the orally grati!ed type of Karl Abraham,4 characterized by “an excess of optimism which is not lessened by reality experience; by generosity, bright and sociable social conduct, accessibility to new ideas and ambitions accompanied by sanguine expectations.â€
The following statement from Abraham addresses itself to the characteristic verbal ability of ennea-type VII:
“their longing to experience gratification by way of sucking has changed to
a need to give by way of the mouth, so that we !nd in them besides a permanent longing to
obtain everything, a constant need to communicate themselves orally to other people; this
results in an obstinate urge to talk, connected in most cases with a feeling of over)owing.
Persons of this kind have the impression that their fund of thoughts is inexhaustible and they
ascribe a special power of some unusual value to what they say.â€
Whether or not we share Freud’s and Abraham’s view in regard to the stages in the development of the libido and the role of sexuality in the shaping of character, not only is the syndrome that psychoanalysis labels as “oral-receptive†an observable fact, which corresponds to ennea-type VII psychology (just as passive-aggressive syndrome corresponds to ennea-type IV), but its association with happy breast feeding has been statistically ascertained. It may be of interest to note that when Freud used the word “narcissistic†in connection with a particular type of individual, his image corresponded to ennea-type VII features and to the narcissistic personality in the DSM III, more than to those of the narcissistic personality disorder as described by Kernberg.
In “Libidinal Types†Freud says: “The main interest is focused in self-preservation. The type is independent and not easily overawed. People of this type impress others as being personalities. It is on them that their fellow men are specially likely to lean. They readily assume the role of leader, give a fresh stimulus to cultural development or break down existing conditions.â€
In spite of the widespread use of “narcissism†in connection with a characterological disposition corresponding to a variety of our ennea-type V, it is ennea-type VII that receives the label “narcissistic†in the DSM III or, at least, we may say thatthere is in it a juxtaposition of meanings that needs to be pointed out. I will examine the issue in the form of a revision of Millon’s description of the narcissistic personality:
“Narcissism conveys a calm and self-assured quality in their social behavior†Millon begins “Narcissism conveys a calm and self-assured quality in their social behavior†Millon begins by saying, and in this way de!nitely portrays an ennea-type VII person rather than the typically awkward, self-doubting, tense ennea-type V.
“Their seemingly untroubled and self-satis!ed air is viewed by some as a sign of confident
equanimity. Others respond to it much less favorably. To them, these behaviors reflect
immodesty, presumptuousness, pretentiousness and a haughty, snobbish, cocksure, and arrogant
way of relating to people.â€
Whereas we may speak of covert arrogance in the case of ennea-type V individuals, this is not suggested by their behavior so much as by the content of their speech. Behavior involving a nonchalant sense of being OK is typical of our “charlatan,†in contrast with the awkward shyness of ennea-type V. I continue with Millon:
“Narcissists appear to lack humility and are over self-centered and ungenerous … They
characteristically but usually unwittingly exploit others and take them for granted and expect
others to serve them without giving much in return. Their self-conceit is viewed by most as
unwarranted. It smacks of being uppish and superior without there being substance to justify
it.â€
Though an expectation of receiving not matched by generosity is something that could be applied to avarice, the style is di+erent in gluttony, as is also the level of exploitation. While in ennea-type V the feelings of superiority exist side by side with even greater feelings of inferiority, in the narcissist the balance is the converse: feelings of superiority being more visible and present to the individual’s awareness, while feelings of inferiority are hidden, denied, and repressed. Only of the gluttons it may be said, as Millon says of narcissists, that “their behavior may be objectionable, even irrational. And that their self-image is that they are superior persons, extra special individuals, who are entitled to unusual rights and privileges. This view of their self-worth is fixed so firmly in their minds, that they rarely question
whether it is valid. Moreover any one who fails to respect them is viewed with contempt and scorn.â€
The following paragraph from Millon evokes the planning aspect of ennea-type VII as well as the optimism of the oral receptive:
“Narcissists are cognitively expansive, they place few limits on either their fantasies or
rationalizations, and their imagination is left to run free of the constraints of reality or the
views of others. They are inclined to exaggerate their powers, to freely transform failures into
successes, to construct lengthy and intricate rationalizations that in)ate their self-worth or
justify what they feel is their due, quickly depreciating those who refuse to accept or enhance
their self-image.†Most characteristic is the observation that “roused by the facile workings of
their imaginations, narcissists experience a pervasive sense of well being in their everyday life,
of buoyancy of mood and an optimism of outlook. A+ect though based often on their
semigrandiose distortion of reality is generally relaxed if not cheerful and carefree. Should the
balloon be burst, however, there is a rapid turn to either an edgy irritability and annoyance
with others or to repeated bouts of dejection that are characterized by feeling humiliated and
empty.â€
Ennea-types V and VII not only contrast in terms of awkwardness vs. self-assurance but also differ in regard to a mental atmosphere—that is predominantly pleasurable in the former and painful in the latter:
“Narcissists suffer few conflicts. Their past has supplied them perhaps too well with high
expectations and encouragements. As a result they are inclined to trust others and to feel
confidence that matters will work out well for them.†Yet “reality bears down heavily at times.
Even the routine demands of everyday life may be viewed as annoying incursions by
narcissists. Such responsibilities are experienced as demeaning for they intrude upon the
narcissist’s cherished illusion of self as almost godlike, alibis to avoid ‘pedestrian’ tasks are
easily mustered since narcissists are convinced that what they believe must be true and what
they wish must be right. Not only do they display considerable talent in rationalizing their
they wish must be right. Not only do they display considerable talent in rationalizing their
social inconsideredness but they utilize a variety of other intrapsychicmechanisms with equal
facility. However, since they reflect minimally on what others think, their defensive maneuvers
are transparent, a poor camouflage to a discerning eye. This failure to bother dissembling more
thoroughly also contributes to their being seen as cocksure and arrogant.â€
I think it will be relevant to include here some reflections of David Shapiro 8 on the impulsive styles in general, since these apply as he himself remarks, both to “most of those persons usually diagnosed as impulsive characters or psychopathic characters†(VIII), and “some of those who are called passive neurotic characters and narcissistic charactersâ€(VII).
While we may say that one is a tough impulsive and the second a soft one, in both of them we may speak of “an impairment of normal feelings and deliberateness and intention.†He includes those conditions described as passive in his discussion because of “the formal qualities of the two sorts of conditions, that marked by impulsiveness and that marked by extreme passivity, shows them to be very closely related. In fact I believe it would be in keeping with the formal similarity of the two sets of conditions to speak of a general passive impulsive style on the experience of impulse … It is an experience of having executed a significant action, not a trivial one, without a clear and complete sense of decision, motivation, or sustained wish. It is an experience of an action, in other words, that does not feel completely deliberate or fully intended.
“These are not experiences of external compulsion or submission to moral principles,†he explains, “but experiences of wish.†Yet “experiences of exceedingly abrupt, transient and partial wish, wish that is so attenuated as to be hardly comparable to the normal experience of wanting or deciding, and so attenuated as to make possible or even plausible a plea of ‘guilty but without premeditation’.†Thus the typical statement “I don’t want to do it but I just can’t control my impulse†which Shapiro comments may be translated as “I don’t feel I ought to do it and I would shrink from doing it deliberately, but if quickly and while I’m not looking my feet, my hands or my impulses just do it I can hardly be blamed†in passive characters frequentlytakes the form of “I didn’t want to do it, but he pressed and somehow I just gave in.â€
Just as the Freudians have become aware of this ennea-type VII syndrome in the light of their theoretical assumptions, Jung and his successors have been acquainted with it in the light of their own frame of reference. This eminently future-oriented type is characterized by intuition: “The capacity for intuiting that which is not yet visible, future possibilities or
potentialities in the background of a situation.†I quote from Jung’s Psychological Types:
“The intuitive is never to be found in the world of accepted reality-values, but he has a
keen nose for anything new and in the making. Because he is always seeking out new
possibilities, stable conditions su+ocate him, he seizes on new objects or situations with great
intensity, sometimes with extraordinary enthusiasm only to abandon them cold bloodedly … it
is as though his whole life vanished in the new situation. One gets the impression, which he
himself shares, that he has always just reached a !nal turning point … Neither reason nor
feeling can restrain him or frighten him away from a new possibility, even though it goes
against all his previous convictions … he has his own characteristic morality, which consists in
a loyalty to his vision and in voluntary submission to its authority … Naturally this attitude
holds great dangers, for all too easily the intuitive may fritter away his life on things and
people, spreading about him an abundance of life which others live and not he himself.â€
Jung’s characterization of ennea-type VII as introverted intuition is only incompletely confirmed through testing, for we recognize the personality pattern in Keirsey and Bates’ portrait of an INTJ (introvert with more intuition than sensing, more thinking than feeling and a predominance of judgment over perception). They observe that INTJ are the most selfconfident of all the types, that they look to the future rather than the past, and that they are both builders of systems and appliers of theoretical models.
“To INTJs, authority based on position, rank, title or publication has absolutely no force. This type is not likely to succumb to the magic of slogans, watchwords, and shibboleths As with the INTP, authority per se does not impress the INTJ …
“No idea is too far fetched to be entertained. INTJs are naturally brainstormers, always open to new concepts and, in fact, aggressively seeking them.
“INTJ manipulates the world of theory as if on a gigantic chessboard, always seeking strategies and tactics that have high pay off … theories which cannot be made to work are quickly discarded by INTJ… .
“INTJs tend, ordinarily, to verbalize the positive and eschew comments of a negative
nature.â€
I find that ennea-type VII matches the personality associated in homeopathy to Sulphur. According to D. Demarqwue’s Concordances Homeopathiques (published by the Centre d’Etude de Documentation Homeopathique) “the character manifestations found in subjects that are sensitive to Sulphur are not pathogenic. They exist, aside from any important episode of sickness. Gaiety, optimism, the enjoyment of life are not, of course, pathological symptoms, neither is selfishness nor an inclination for philosophical speculation.â€
Could not the same be said of the oral-optimistic ennea-type VII, by a person without psycho-therapeutic sophistication? It is a fact that type IV and type V seem sicker than the happy characters—type VII, type III, type II, and type IX. Yet pathology or not, homeopathic experience has recognized the ennea-type VII pattern: a sel!sh enjoyer with a love for explaining and generalization.
Turning to Matière Medicale Homeopathique by Michel Guermonprez, Pinkas, Tork, (Doin Editeur, Paris, 1985), I !nd “cyclic behavior, euphoria, imagination, inaction, irritability, selfishness†as characteristics of those for whom Sulphur is the remedy of choice. “Cyclic behavior†is then explained as an alternation of euphoric phases (“sociable, optimistic,
charlatanâ€) and depression.
Particularly interesting, in view of our conception of ennea-type VII as a charlatan, is the observation: “the student believes that he knows everything and does everything well, while being in fact lazy, confusing and negligent.†Also “Illusionof a superior intelligence: systems, techniques, synthesis, inventions, exuberant but erroneous theoretical imagination. Metaphysical and philosophical speculation. Mythomania: beautifully illustrated frauds.â€
Along with recognizing that the characteristics of Sulphur people in the experience of homeopaths are the best match to type VII, I notice a di+erence in emphasis between their view and Coulter’s description (which originally inclined me to connect Sulphur to ennea-type V) for in Coulter’s character description of Sulphur hedonism is not prominent. Since the
ennea-type conscious homeopaths I have questioned confirmed the correspondence of Lycopodium to type VI, I have deemed Coulter’s Sulphur the closest to type VII among the Polychrests. I have inquired further and reconsidered the possibility that the loquacious Sulphur (“philosopher†in rags) might correspond to type VII, and I have been pleased to learn of the association of Sulphur to euphoria, which has con!rmed this alternative hypothesis.
There is still a difference between my conception of ennea-type VII, and the homeopathic picture: the emphasis on sel!shness in the latter. While I have spoken of type VII as a fox whose selfishness is well hidden under a lambskin, homeopathic literature I have consulted doesn’t seem to pay attention to the fox’s clothing. Or rather, it only reports that there are exceptions to Sulphur’s self-interest. Says Coulter11: “Some Sulphurs, moreover, demonstrate a
complete lack of interest in material things or !nancial matters. They can be almost simpleminded in this respect. They are not slow, but their heads are so far in the clouds, they are engrossed in thought, that the ‘real life’ around them passes by unobserved.â€
To clarify this it is necessary to point out that only the self-preservation subtype of enneatype VII is visibly an opportunist with a keen nose for advantages; in the social subtype selfinterest is more hidden behind a friendly brotherliness, while the sexual subtype is that of a dreamer whose interests are not of this world.